View from Heaven
by Annjirika
Summary: [SquallxYuffie] Could a single run-in with a heartless be Yuffie's last?
1. Until

_A/N: Chapter edited 2/26/05 – I stole the idea from the episode 'A Hole In The World' from Angel. Well kinda. It just inspired it really._

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"Make sure you get-"

"_Leon_, I wouldn't talk to me right now if I were you 'cause quite frankly, I'm liable to do something I'd really regret in the morning. You better _pray_ you don't make some patronizing comment." She warned. Her hands moved swiftly and surely as she placed each shuriken in her belt, keeping her eyes directed at me at all times.

I could just see her silently daring me to say something-anything to give her an excuse to blow up. So I just stood there, silent and stubborn. It took a whole lot to piss Yuffie off - Queen of perkiness, miss optimistic. But when you did...she rivaled even the deadliest rabid heartless.

I don't guess I meant to make her mad, its just some sort of power I had over her. It started with a stupid comment on her behalf, which led to a massively stupid response on my part. I thought I mentioned how she'd never live up to Rinoa...I didn't even remember anymore.

The argument had been last night and it was extremely trivial compared to the sudden strong wave of heartless. Sora shoulda saved the worlds by now...so why were the heartless thicker than ever? Yuffie, even more miffed by my silence, stormed out toward Rising falls, a popular hang out for the heartless.

"Yuffie." I called suddenly, feeling sort of strange. I seemed to need closure before this battle - why this battle I didn't know, but I needed it. She glared daggers at me. I guess I didn't need it. I quickly brushed off the feeling,

returning the glare. "Forget it." I scowled, shoving her out of my way. She was always in the way...

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"Someone get Aerith!" Squall kicked the doors with such force it nearly came off its hinges. The Grand Hall echoed his frantic cry for help. Cinderella, cleaning as usual (old habits die hard), jumped up when she heard his yell. She wiped her hands on the seat of her jeans and hurried down the stairs.

"Leon?" She gasped when she saw the woman in his arms. "Oh my goodness is that-"

"Go find Aerith!" He yelled, barely paying attention to who he was yelling at. All he could see was the limp figure in his arms. "Now!" Cinderella instantly ran back up the staircase, taking them two at a time. Squall knelt on the floor in the middle of the hall, propping Yuffie against his raised knee. "C'mon Yuf." He muttered, anxiously trying to keep her calm.

The moment she touched the floor she began to struggle against him, trying to escape from whatever had happened to her. All he had seen was a brilliant flash of orange light and then Yuffie, already weakened, crumpled to the icy platform. Squall hadn't even seen the heartless she'd been battling. He had no idea what he was up against.

"No...please I have to go back...its just..."She mumbled bits and pieces of garbled sentences, eyes wild.

"Aerith!" He yelled again. He watched helplessly as Yuffie crawled to her feet, swaying to the left dangerously. He reached out to catch her as she fell but he missed. She hit the floor yet she didn't seem to realize she'd fallen. His feelings of helplessness didn't last long. "Stop it. We'll help you." He grabbed his comrade's wrist and pulled her effortlessly across the floor. She grunted and fought weakly.

"Let me go, I can fix this." She murmured the last words over and over again, turning an off shade of white within seconds. The whites of her eyes were turning colors, gray, yellow, then gray again. Her normally vivid purple eyes were wildly searching everything they could, searching for her salvation.

"Leon? Leon!" Aerith ran into the room, followed closely by Cinderella. Her boots thumped hollowly down the stairs. Squall watched as Yuffie's eyes, still fading, followed the noise. "What happened? Yuffie?" Aerith dropped to her knees next to the infected ninja. Yuffie seemed to lose the little strength she had left, lying limp in Squall's arms. She started blankly at the griever necklace, blue-tinted lips murmuring silent arguments.

"She's going crazy or...something attacked her. It looked like fire...it's a simple spell Aerith it can't have done this much damage! It had to be something else...a hex or curse or poison."

"And it can't be in her mind because it's affecting her physiologically." Aerith muttered as she checked Yuffie's eyes. Her own darkened. Squall saw why. The already dull purple had faded to an even lighter lavender. Squall brushed the bangs away, staring into her eyes. There was no response, no movement at all. "Her pulse isn't even a pulse. I'll find an elixir to keep her comfortable-Cinderella! I need you to find the others and search the library." She looked to Squall. "Do you have any idea what the heartless was?"

"I...I think it was a Defender."

"Look up everything you can on the Defender Heartless. What items do they carry, what are they capable of...search every copy of Ansem's books." Cinderella turned to obey orders when Aerith stopped her. "Have the others do that. I need you to contact Sora. Get him here immediately. See if he's fought this before. Go!" Aerith's orders were easy and calm under pressure. As soon as Cinderella was gone, she added, "Get Yuffie to your room and keep her down. Less activity means less blood flow-"

"Which means less spreading. Got it." Squall finished, scooping up his friend and setting off toward his corridor. Aerith disappeared to find potions and cures. Yuffie moaned and writhed suddenly. "Shh..." Squall tried to calm her back down. It didn't work; he could tell she was in pain. They reached the bedroom, where Yuffie was placed carefully on the bed. Her breathing was growing jerky and difficult, getting steadily worse.

"Squall?" She mumbled quietly. It was the first time she had seemed to recognize anything around her. Suddenly she lurched forward, coughing forcefully. Specks of blood flew onto the bed. Squall reached for the nearest tissue box, shoving a handful into her hand. "Please help." She gasped between spasms. Squall looked on powerlessly, sitting by her side. He would have went to the end of the earth for her if she could just say the world. She tried to say something else but breathing got in the way.

"Just don't talk." He suggested gently. She leaned against him, swallowing with visible difficulty. Squall wrapped his arms around her, holding her to him. "You'll be okay." He whispered. "You'll be fine I promise."

Yuffie closed her eyes tightly. "I'm so sorry. Don't be mad at me." Her breathing became shallow.

Squall hugged her tightly. "I'm not mad. Don't even think about that. Just focus on getting better." He answered.

She sniffed. "No I mean. Don't be mad if I leave you." She started to cough again. Her eyes were growing even worse. At this rate, her eyes would be completely white by nightfall.

"No!" He growled, taking her by the shoulders and shaking her. "Don't say that! You fight this dammit!" He didn't realize how harsh he sounded until she began to cry again.

"You're mad. I knew it." She choked. "Don't be. Not right now. I'm...so scared." She started to cough harder, bringing up more blood.

"Easy. Easy..." Squall tried to help best he could but there was nothing he could do. Just then, Aerith burst into the room with her arms full.

"How is she?"

"Not good." Squall replied.

Yuffie cried out suddenly, turning her face into his chest. "Oh god it hurts! Make it stop..." Her tears began to fall faster and heavier as she clutched him to her. Squall closed his eyes and bit his lip, almost drawing blood.

"Yuffie? Yuf, drink this." Aerith tenderly helped Yuffie swallow the bright green potion.

"She may not hold it down." Squall realized when she began to gag again. He untangled himself from her to reach for his small wastebasket. Yuffie cried out like a child when he left but hushed when he returned. The potion was beginning to work its magic. She was able to lay back at least, closing her eyes. Squall leaned over her, studying her face as he brushed her hair away. "Aerith. You have to help her." He murmured, recalling her words. She was scared. Yuffie was never scared.

"I'm trying. We all are. Sora said he'd be here as soon as he could but...You have to tell me exactly what happened. I don't remember anything like this happening in Traverse Town. It couldn't have been the Defender. What else happened?" She too studied Yuffie's still form. Every few seconds she would jerk a little, her chest rising and falling erratically. Squall covered his mouth for a minute, watching his younger friend's internal struggle. Finally he looked up.

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	2. The

_A/N: Chapter edited 2/26/05_

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_We were both pretty pale now, it more obvious in the sunlight. We'd spent years in the dark Traverse Town streets; it was such a change to come back here. Back home. The lift ride to Rising falls was quiet. Yuffie refused to look at me and I had no intentions of apologizing. I was kind of enjoying the quiet. Usually Yuffie was jabbering 10 miles a minute, bouncing around, throwing out confident but playful insults about my being slow._

_There wasn't any of that this time. "I trust you're stocked." She asked at the top of the Rising Falls, as we looked down at the hissing and growling heartless. I felt the couple elixirs and potion in my back pocket and nodded._

"_Of course. You?"_

"_All set." She said, immediately jumping onto the nearest ledge. I followed a little less gracefully. Yuffie took to the first Wyvern we crossed paths with. I stayed close but focused in on my own battles. Not even 3 minutes into it Yuffie cried out, "Ouch! Hey!" I snagged enough time to check out what happened. She was pulling up her scarf, dodging a swipe from the Defender she was battling._

"_Everything okay?" I yelled, my blade connecting with one of two Blue Rhapsodies. It disintegrated._

"_Just fine." She replied hastily. If she felt well enough to be snappish with me then she couldn't have been hurt too bad. I zeroed in on the last of the heartless, looking forward to the short break. The wizard heartless raised its wand in response to a sharp blow I'd given it and cast thunder at me._

_When the shock wore off, I weakened the monster again. Out of the corner of my eye I could see a second Defender pop in front of Yuffie. She was already worn as it was. It took a couple more hits to bring the wizard down but I did it. By the time it disappeared, I saw the dog shield send a cascade of fire at Yuffie. All the sudden she fell to the ground, her shuriken falling beside her with a sharp ping. It didn't take long for me to take out the Defenders. As soon as I did, I dropped the gunblade, digging around for a potion. I knew even before I reached her this knockout was different. Something was wrong..._

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Squall and Aerith both realized the same thing at the same time. "It had nothing to do with the fire!" She slid to the front of the bed, carefully lowering Yuffie's scarf. Squall reached over and cautiously lifted Yuffie up. She flinched, her hand clasping his wrist weakly.

"Take it off." He instructed Aerith. She quickly obeyed. There was a small black tear in her skin where her neck met her shoulder.

"The Defender itself must've hit her. Its in their claws." Aerith murmured, studying the wound but never touching it. Squall lowered her back to the bed.

"What's in their claws?"

"A poison. Like a snakebite. It can kill the Defender itself if they produce too much of it. It was a malfunction in its genetic makeup. Ansem's fault." She rattled. Her hours in the library reading up on the heartless were beginning to show.

"What does it do to humans?" Squall noticed how much worse Yuffie's breathing was getting and feared the answer.

Aerith sighed. "It dissolves holes in human veins, until they bleed to death. It'll crush her lungs..." She paused. "Its fatal. There's nothing we can do. No antidote, no cure...no amount of elixirs will fix it."

Fatal. The word echoed through his mind, repeated until it didn't make sense anymore. The only sound in the room was Yuffie as she struggled for air. Squall swallowed hard, his mouth dry. "How long?" He asked as she stared at the floor. He dreaded this answer even more.

"By tomorrow."

Squall rocketed off the bed. "No! It wont happen." He yelled. Yuffie shifted at the loud noise.

"There's nothing." Aerith whispered, also getting off the bed.

"There's something. There's always something. There is no way I'll let her go too." He hissed, struggling violently to keep his voice low. He wanted to choke something. Anything. Everything. He wanted to stop time and go back.

Change all of this. He picked up the box of tissues that had been knocked off during his outburst. His hands were trembling. He hadn't allowed himself to be this angry in a long time.

Aerith took a few breaths to steady herself and then turned to Yuffie. "I'll change her out of those clothes. Go let the princesses know we found the cause and get them to start on a cure."

"I'm not leaving her." Squall answered immediately. He headed for her side to prove his point. Aerith held out her hand to stop him. His belts clanked together loudly.

"Squall. She has a while. Trust me." Squall paused, realizing she called him Squall. He almost corrected her but held back. She was commanding him –disguised as a suggestion – to leave her and Yuffie alone. Aerith shook her head. "Sorry. Leon." She mumbled.

Squall backed up with a shrug. "Whatever." He cast a look at Yuffie, fighting with himself briefly. Finally he caved.

"Okay. Okay all right." He sighed, turning to the door. Behind him, the healer sighed with relief. Before he closed the door, he saw Aerith sit down next to her friend, crying softly. Her tears were like a knife, stabbing Squall's hope right in the gut. She knew it was over...but he'd never accept it. Not now, not next year. Not the day he buried her.

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"AHHH!" A shrill scream sliced through the castle. Squall dropped his gunblade in mid stride. It went off, blowing a hole in the nearest bookcase. The scream came again...Yuffie. He took off immediately, rushing up the stairs toward the lift stop. Everything ran through his mind at that point. Had it happened? Was it happening? Was this it? Was he too late? He slid into the door, throwing it open. Aerith looked frazzled and terrified as she shuffled through her potions.

Yuffie groaned again, clutching her chest. She had scratch marks on her arms, which were splotched with purple underneath the skin. "What the hell happened?" Squall yelled over Yuffie's crying. Aerith shook her head.

"Squall." Yuffie looked around the room somewhat wildly. Her face was tearstained and white as the sheets.

"Hey." Squall muttered, taking two strides to reach the side of the bed. She stared at him for a full minute, watching as he brushed her hair out of her face, still crying and breathing erratically.

"She just started screaming and crying and she kept saying it hurt and I couldn't do anything for her. I used an elixir but it didn't work and she just..." He could see Aerith was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. He couldn't handle two breakdowns on his shift.

"Okay." Squall nodded to Aerith, signaling her to calm down. She practiced breathing while Squall looked through her potions. "Think its almost over?" He questioned very quietly to keep Yuffie from hearing. Aerith looked over at the younger woman.

"She'll be...well maybe through the night. It's a 24 hour...thing." As though in response Yuffie began crying again.

"Comfort her." Squall ordered, still sifting through the pointless potions and medicines. "You don't have any tranquilizers?" He called over his shoulder. Aerith nodded, back to being her calm self. Yuffie had quieted, her eyes steadily watching Squall. "Go get them. If she does that again, we'll tranquilize her." She left Yuffie's side and slipped out the door. As soon as it clicked shut, he let his guard down. Yuffie had quieted and was now staring silently at the ceiling.

He slumped against the wall wearily. He'd thought..."Hey. Sorry." Yuffie mumbled, sniffling. Squall's head shot up. "Its so not like me you know?" She started to laugh as she sat up, but coughed instead. He moved toward her but she held up her hand. He sank back to the wall.

She caught her breath but Squall saved her the need to talk. "You're back."

"I wasn't gone."

"You were for a while. Do you remember anything?"

"Everything. I just haven't been able to care until now. A reprieve I guess." She wiped her eyes with a purple-splotched hand and sniffed with a weak smile. "I do remember hearing Aerith's diagnosis." She was still having tremendous difficulty breathing but she seemed to be in her right mind again. Squall lowered his eyes. "Now don't do that." She sighed.

He hesitantly met her eyes. They were completely white. "Can you...see anything?" He asked carefully, sliding down to a sitting position.

Yuffie coughed, a rattling noise coming from deep within her chest. It was almost painful to watch her breathe. "Blurry and sort of red." She snickered. "Funny, how I'm you know, dying, and all I can think-" She swallowed another coughing fit. "And all I can think about it how I look."

"Don't worry about it."

"You aren't the one with the damned poison in ya." She smiled again, her voice wavering from something other than tears.

Squall sighed heavily. "Yuffie."

"Hey I'm fine." She shrugged, leaning back against the headboard. "I'm not scared anymore."

"Yuffie."

"Squall." She gazed at him, half-smiling. There was a pause and her smile faded. "You can correct me now." She added softly. He stayed silent. "Don't do that! Don't treat me like I'm some fragile little...kid! I'm the Great Ninja Yuffie, Defender poison or not!" She glared at the stoic swordsman as though daring him to contradict her.

He wouldn't of course, though he had an eerie sense of déjà vu. "The name's Leon." He obliged. Yuffie seemed satisfied, though she shut her eyes tightly. "Pain?" He asked, reaching up for another elixir in case she turned back into the screaming, struggling...dying Yuffie. She nodded shortly. It seemed so difficult to breath and swallow and focus on keeping away another bout of agony. "Here. Take this." Squall suggested, popping off the top of a potion.

Yuffie's eyes opened. "No. I don't need it. My eyes burn is all." She rejected the offer. When he didn't relent Yuffie looked up. "What?" She asked, suddenly alarmed.

Squall's eyes had widened considerably. She was afraid. "Your eyes are just...they flashed to normal again." Squall replied, shaking his head.

Yuffie looked relieved. "So that must be good. I'm getting better!"

"Yeah that's it." He nodded, not telling her that they'd returned to white. Aerith came back in at that moment, hording two syringes. Yuffie glanced at them wearily. "Only in case." Squall mumbled quietly. She shuddered, drawing her knees to her chest. Her legs looked bruised. Dark, blood spots were spreading beneath her skin. Aerith crawled onto the bed next to her, pulling off her boots. Yuffie put her head on Aerith's shoulder, looking at Squall with her milky white eyes.

"I want to go outside at some point. Rising falls. Tonight." Aerith and Squall exchanged looks.

"Rising Falls? Isn't that a little dangerous? What about the Garden?" Aerith suggested instead. Yuffie chewed this over in her mind.

"No. I want to see the falls." She was still Yuffie. "And Sora better get here soon. I want to see him before-"She was interrupted by a vicious coughing spell but Squall suspected she wouldn't have finished that sentence anyway. He saw through Yuffie for once. Not even the Great Ninja Yuffie could hide the fact that she was terrified of tomorrow.

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A/N: As I went through correcting the typos (of course there will still be a couple thousand of them) I wondered just HOW much more dramatic I could have made this. And then I knew I could have. Be grateful it wasn't worse.


	3. Sun

A/N: Chapter edited 2/26/05

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"You're sure you aren't hungry?" Aerith asked again. It seemed to bother her that Yuffie hadnt eaten at all since the battle. Yuffie nodded, leaning as little as she could on Squall. In order to stay upright she had to have support, but it seemed like anytime you touched her she would shy away in pain. She described it like 'one big bruise'. Aerith had voiced her doubt that Yuffie was strong enough to handle a trip outside but she refrained from nagging too much.

Yuffie was still Yuffie and was determined to get out of that room, strong enough or not. She had said 'I'll die in this room if I have to, but I've got to get out at least once before that happens.' Needless to say, Aerith didnt have much more to say after that.

"Its beautiful." Yuffie said, her voice scratchy. She stared out at Rising Falls in a trance-like state. "I've never really noticed before."

"You want to sit?" Squall asked. Yuffie nodded, bringing herself out of her reverie. She allowed help from both Squall and Aerith as she sank down onto the mossy cement.

Her eyes went back to the rising water and icy platforms, back into the trance. "Think this will be the last time I see this?" She murmured, unmoving and unblinking. No one answered. She hadnt expected an answer but the question had cast a sober feeling over the group. One of their own was dying.

Squall swallowed. "You know, they're close to figuring out if the Crystal Shards the Defender carries can actually control the poison. They have good reason to believe it too. If Belle's right, the shards can cancel it out and-" He tried to sound hopeful for Yuffie's sake. She just smiled and patted his knee lightly.

"Thanks Squall."

"Leon." He corrected, causing her to smile to widen. She sat quietly, her breathing staying the same - not better, not worse.

"Hey." She said after a few minutes. "Give Cloud a mondo hug for me. When you see him that is."

Aerith closed her eyes. "Can we not talk about it." She once again looked ready to break down.

Yuffie sighed. "We've been over this." She glanced at the brunette. "We have to talk about it. You cant just...ignore it! Honor the dying girl's last request huh?" It was suposed to be a joke, but neither of them laughed. "I guess what I mean is, don't worry about it. Don't not talk about me like you do with Rinoa and Cloud. And Squall, Leon, so help me God if you change your name again I'll haunt your brooding ass for the rest of your natural life." Finally she got a smile out of him. "Hah. There." She muttered in satisfaction.

Even faced with death, Yuffie managed to joke around. She couldn't bring herself to be sad or she'd risk breaking the barrier she'd put up between having to deal with the severity of it all and just pretending everything was fine. Yuffie started coughing again. Both Squall and Aerith seemed to pull themselves out of thier thoughts at the same time.

Squall reached for the just-in-case potion in his pocket as Aerith handed her another batch of tissues. Yuffie assured them she was fine with a weak shake of her head as she tried to get back into the uncomfortable yet familiar rhythm of breathing. "Okay?" Squall looked her over apprehensively. Yuffie nodded again, keeping her eyes closed for a few more minutes.

When she opened them she acted as though nothing had happened and asked, "So what would you change your name to anyway?"

His face blanked for minute then relaxed into a smirk. "Back to that?"

"Back to that. I mean, Squall Leonhart. You can't be Leon...Hart? Nope." She sighed. "So you see the delimma. What's your middle name?"

"Ah, that you will never know." Squall immediantly answered, pretending to go stoic again.

"Well then what? I can just see it now. 'Hey Leon!' 'It's Bob.'" Yuffie grinned. Aerith laughed but Squall didnt find it that amusing. The list went on for a while, until she and Aerith had no more names to remember. The sun was starting to set in the distance, sinking behind the mountains. Below them, heartless continued their growling and stomping and popping but no one paid any attention.

"Are you ready to go in?" Aerith asked.

"When the sun sets." Yuffie replied, laying her head against Squall's shoulder. It took a few seconds for him to react.

"As soon as the sun goes down...but don't let me go to sleep." She warned as Squall put his arm behind her. He leaned back with her, using the palms of his hands as support. "I'll be here till the sun goes down." Aerith leaned forward, bringing her knees to her chest and resting her chin on top. She hadn't sat like that since...since the day they were forced to leave Hollow Bastion. It was like her security position.

None of them said a word until the sun sank beneath the horizon. The falls were pitch black and the sky was completely blanketed with stars by the time Yuffie fell asleep. Then Squall and Aerith carried her back to the castle.

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Yuffie's sleep was anything but productive. She slept for an hour at a time at most, waking up with the crying and shaking fits, sometimes waking up to a nasty cough. Most of the time she woke up with her head in the trashcan, vomiting unnatural amounts of blood. It didn't get any easier to watch or hear and it certainly wasn't getting any easier for Yuffie.

Aerith spent a lot of time making coffee, bringing it to Squall and the princesses that were working fervently down in the library. Best they could tell, Crystal shards were the going cure. At first light, Suqall was prepared to go hunt down every Defender heartless in the neighboring worlds. Dawn was when Aerith's shift started and his ended. The only problem was how to use the crystals to Yuffie's benefit. Time was running out.

_'Speaking of time_...' Squall thought wearily, glancing at his watch. Nearly 4 AM. Yuffie was asleep again. She had been since 2:48. The reality that Yuffie had only a few more hours to live was a foreign concept to him. Countless cups of coffee with the added stress and lack of sleep were quickly becoming sizable problems. Yuffie whined softly and Squall braced himself another episode. She settled down after a moment. A nightmare probably.

Every inch of her was splotchy and brusied. It'd gotten to the point of a slight death rattle in her chest. Squall was terrified. Somehow the thought of the castle being empty of her usual perkiness...why'd he have to argue with her that day? Would she have been more alert? Maybe avoid the Defender all together? Would she still be alive?

Squall shook his head violently. The coffee was getting to him. She wasn't gone yet. He wouldn't let there be a yet. Yuffie whined again, this time rolling onto her side. She didnt even looked real. He knew her eyes were still white, though closed at the moment, and her lips were frosted with blue. Her face was the only area Squall could see that was blotch-free. It was instead deathly pale that glowed unnaturally in the light.

Suddenly she gasped, draping herself over the edge of the bed. Squall grabbed the trashcan reflexively and held it under her. She stared at the bottom of it for a few seconds, panting. Finally she raised her eyes. "I'm okay." She breathed, slowly getting on all fours. The blankets fell onto the floor. Squall hestitated. Then Yuffie carefully fell back on her side. "Hey." Her voice was still scratchy.

"Yeah? You want some water?" Squall started to stand but Yuffie shook her head slightly.

"No. Thats okay. Um," She swallowed. "Do you remember singing to me a long time ago?" When he nodded she continued. "Would you sing to me now?" Her request was completely off the wall.

Squall shook his head as though clearing it. He though he was hearing things. "Sing?"

"Yeah." She looked at him. "I want you to sing to me like you used to." She flinched and moved her arm out from underneath her.

Squall rubbed his forehead tiredly. "What song?"

"I dont care."

"Yuffie I-"

"Please? Like you did when I was little." She interuppted. It would have been heartless to turn her down, not to mention impossible.

Squall recalled doing this for her once before. "You were 7." He muttered.

"I was sick and you were babysitting me. You sang me to sleep." Yuffie smiled with her eyes closed. Squall watched her for a moment, envisioning the child she had been. He was a child then too, just a teenager. He forgot the song he had sang and had no idea what to sing now. He started singing the first song he could think of, low and quiet, and only just a little self-concious. He wasn't used to doing these things.

_Nice choice, moron_. He thought when he finished. The song had been a rather morbid one Yuffie smiled. "You never could carry a tune."

Squall couldnt help but smile himself. "No." He kicked off his shoes and layed next to his young friend.

Yuffie rested her forehead against his chest and drew a shaky breath. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Go to sleep now."

"I can't."

"Why?" Her voice was so soft. She was almost asleep.

He paused. "Will you be here when I wake up?" There was a silence. Squall figured she'd fallen asleep and began to do the same.

Then, "I promise. And Squall?"

"Hmm?"

"I love you."

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	4. Sets

_A/N: Chapter rewritten 4/30/05_

_Because of new rule, the song I had based the story off of is no longer able to be used. Here's the link to the lyrics if anyone is ever interested…_

_ morning." Yuffie smiled at me brightly, her big, vivid eyes sparkling. I looked down at her, realizing her eyes were no longer white. She had color back in her face and the big, ugly bruises had disappeared. She was cured. But how? I couldn't help but stare at her. She looked so...alive. I reached out and touched her cheek. She was there. She was real. She was fine._

"You're still here."

She sat up and let the sunlight pouring in the window rest on her face. "Of course. I told you I would be. But I have to admit, it is strange." She twisted around so that she could look down into my eyes. The blankets tangled around her waist, drawing them away from me. "I can't believe you did it. You all did it. I'd have never known those crystals had an actual purpose! Ya know, besides upgrading weapons. They worked!" Her entire face lit up with a genuine Yuffie-style smile.

My smile faded. The crystals? "Yuffie? We didn't use any Crystal Shards. You must've gotten better on your own." I replied hesitantly. I didn't want anything to ruin this moment. It felt like a dream already. I felt like at any moment Yuffie could break down and the tears and pain and bruises would come rushing back.

"What?" Yuffie's smile also faded.

I knew instantly I'd said something wrong and desperately tried to backtrack, to make her happy again. "I mean, obviously you didn't need it. I mean, look at you! You look better than ever!"

It didn't work. The damage was done. "You didn't...help me?" Her eyes suddenly filled with tears.

"We tried! We really did Yuffie. You're fine now. You're better, see? You didn't need us anyway." I grabbed her hand. She yelped and pulled away as though burned. We both looked down at the same time. "No..." I mumbled. Her hand was beginning to turn purple again, the horrible black rings forming under her skin. The splotches crept slowly over her arms. "No! I won't let it happen!" I yelled. My vision darkened for a second. This wasn't happening.

Yuffie raised her face, her eyes completely whitened. "Why didn't you help me Squall?"

"It's not too late! I'll help you please just hold on. It's the Crystals isn't it? That's what you need?" He reached out to hug her. Once again she cried out at his touch, shrinking to the end of the bed.

"No it's over...why didn't you help me? Didn't you try?" She coughed into her hand. More blood.

"Of course...Yuffie...please don't say that." I didnt know what to do. I was losing her again. I already lost her once. No...I lost Rinoa. This was Yuffie. I was going to lose them both. I wished I could take her sickness from her. If I could have it, she wouldn't be dying. This couldn't be real. It was a dream.

"How can you just watch me die here!" Her voice rose suddenly, glaring fervently. The more she tried to speak, the shallower her breathing grew. She was angry and it was killing her faster. "You watched me die! How could you just sit there and let me get worse!"

"Stop it. She's not real. Wake up." I repeated to myself. Yuffie was fine. None of this had happened. None of it happened and I was dreaming...and it was all a dream...a great big dream. All I had to do was wake up and I could really see her smile again. She would be alive and annoying and beautiful. I just had to...wake...up!

I opened my eyes.

z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z

Sora arrived an hour and a half too late.

He'd had to make a stop and pick something up. Said it was a special stop for Aerith. Squall figured he should have been grateful that she had gone quietly. At least. She'd suffered for 14 and a half-hours only to leave in her sleep and in his arms. The worst for him was having to tell Aerith. She was already so overworked and tired, as they all were. To announce her friend had passed away in her sleep wasn't something he prefered to do.

Aerith handled it well, without so much as a tear. She just looked at the empty coffee mug in front of her, saying nothing. Until Sora showed up anyway. The kid looked defeated, tired, void of his usual gung-ho attitude. He just sat down on the bottom step of the Grand Hall staircase and stared blankly at the wall in front of him when he heard the news. His reaction resembled Aerith.

He hadn't said a word when Donald and Goofy tried to console him. They walked outside to talk privately not long after to give Sora a moment to himself. It was then Cloud walked in, carrying his large, wrapped sword and draped in a torn and singed cape that hid half his face. Aerith's gift. "Squall." He nodded as he approached the stoic gunblade weilder.

"It's Leon now." Squall answered immediantly, shaking hands with his long-lost friends. A touching reunion seemed pointless to him now.

Cloud nodded without question. There were some things he understood without explaination. "Sure. You look like hell Leon. Slept lately?"

Sora glanced up, knowing the answer to that. "Not much." Squall replied. Sora lowered his eyes again.

"Leon?" A voice called. Aerith came down the staircase, holding a pad of paper and a pen. She'd pulled her hair up in a sloppy ponytail, looking clean for the first time since this happened. She'd showered and changed, he knew he had to do the same. "I was trying to figure out where the best place to bury her would be. When should we do-" She glanced up in mid-sentence. There was a very long pause, during which no one moved or spoke. Squall wondered what was going through their minds at that moment. "Cloud?" Areith asked. Probably that.

Cloud dropped his sword as Aerith rushed toward him. She laughed when she reached him, literally jumping into his arms. She'd lost someone and gained another. That was when she started crying. Cloud was oblivious to everything that had happened, so he was oblivious to the true reason Aerith was sobbing into his shoulder. To the best of his knowledge, she was just overjoyed to see him. Squall looked away as his throat ached. He swallowed hard. He didnt cry. Ever. He wasn't about to start now.

"Hey." He heard Cloud mumble. Squall saw him look down at her in confusion. He was realizing her tears weren't about him entirely. And then his eyes darkened. "Where's Yuffie?" He directed his question over Aerith's head at Squall. Squall just looked at him silently, waitng for the connection. And then Cloud looked back down. "I'm sorry." He told the brunette quietly. "When did it happen?"

"Almost 2 hours ago." Squall answered before Aerith could catch her breath.

Cloud closed his eyes. "Damn." He summed up the basic feeling of the whole morning in one simple word. Damn. Suddenly Squall felt the need to be alone. He felt strangely compelled to go to Rising Falls, where Yuffie sat just the night before, alive. Sick but alive. The place where the whole thing started. _Go figure._ He thought as he walked out the doors and past the duck and dog. He couldn't let off any steam by fighting heartless since his gunblade was still lying in the floor of the library. He took the lift to the falls, then sat where he had a few hours ago. He hadn't even been there for a full minute when he heard soft footsteps behind him. They sounded like Yuffie's, quick and light, like a ninja.

"Hey Squallie. What're ya up to?" It was even Yuffie's voice. How far would his hallucinations go? He wouldn't look up. He didn't dare look at her. "Being Mister Joe Stoic as usual?" The Yuffie hallucination sighed. He caught her green and yellow shoes out of the corner of his eye. She leaned down in front of him. Her eyes were purple, bright and vivid purple. Was it possible she was alive? Or she hadn't died yet at all, she had just been deeply asleep? Was all of that a dream...or was this the dream?

"You aren't real. You aren't her." He growled. "Leave me alone."

The hallucination sighed and sat next to him. "I'm not real...exactly. Real enough. I'm in your imagination. I mean, I could be a chicken if you wanted me to be."

"Yeah? Whatever I wanted? Then I want you to be gone. Go away."

Yuffie giggle. "Oh come on. That's not what you want or I wouldn't be here in the first place Squallie. Apparently _you _need some closure and hey - I'm your girl."

"Even in my imaginiation you're obnoxious."

Yuffie giggled. "Thanks." She cocked her head to the side and looked forward. "It's not your fault." She said in a soft, sing-songy voice.

"Please. Don't." Squall commanded hotly.

"You couldn't have saved me. Period. I watched you for 10 years grieve and mourn Rinoa. You have a nasty habit for the dramatic. It's time to let go Squallie." She sighed, using the pet name she'd always called him against his will again. It usually got on his nerves, but he appreciated it now.

"I sat by your bed and watched you die! How can you sit here and smile and act as though I didn't kill you!"

"You didn't!"

"I may as well have!" He exploded. "I sure as hell didn't do anything to stop it. I brought you here to fight." He guestured angrily toward the heartless below. "I was the reason you weren't focusing on your battles. I sat by when I knew a perfectly good cure because I was scared to leave you and scared to fucking lose you! I as good as killed you." There was a brief silence, during which Squall berated himself for allowing Yuffie to get the better of his emotions.

"Okaaaaay." Yuffie sighed, pulling her knees to her chest. "First of all, didn't anyone ever tell you that you're really self-centered?" She spoke. "I mean, it's not like you determined my everything. I loved ya and all Squallie, but I was my own person."

He sighed heavily. He thought he had come here to think about the past few days, to wallow in his own self-pity and confront his demons. Now that _this _demon, also known as Yuffie, was confronting him, he didn't want to think about it anymore. He growled, furiously rubbing his forehead with the palm of his hand. A habit reserved for really stressful times. "Fine. You know what? I understand Yuffie. Closure and all, couldn't save you, not my fault, whatever. You can go now. I got the message." He looked forward, willing the mirage to go away. It was more painful to see her now than realizing she was completely gone forever.

"Okay...but you know I'll always be here. Right here until the sun goes down okay? Or, _around _anyway." She giggled softly. There was a small, familiar hand placed on his arm tightly. He inhaled sharply. She felt real. Her hand was warm and solid and left a white imprint in his tanned skin. When he looked up she had disappeared. Instantly he turned cold and bitter.

He'd forgotten to say goodbye...again.

--------

Now, nearly three months later, the worlds are still connected but the heartless are gone. Sora sealed the worlds and probably went home. I haven't heard from him since the day Yuffie died. Like anything else, there're good days and bad days. Sometimes I feel like it'll all be okay, that I'll be fine and I'll move on and love someone else. And then I have days where it feels like nothing will be alright. There were times when I saw her, hurting and crying and I remembered my helplessness in the situation and I feel like my heart is being slowly ripped apart.

And then I see her standing at the bottom of the stairs or on the platforms of Rising Falls, or perched on top of a bookcase in the library. She'd just smile at me, her way of forgiving me, reassuring me. She's never coming back, I understand this, but she's always here with me...whether I like it or not.

Still...I can't forgive myself for just relying on the Princesses's research. For waiting until dawn. For going to sleep. I wonder if I hadn't gone to sleep...if if if. If I'd found those Crystal Shards in time, she'd be sitting here with me. She promised she'd be there when I woke up but...she lied. Had she been content enough with me to let go? Had she been scared? I prayed with all I had she hadn't been scared. She was still braver than anyone I'd ever known, terrified or not.

And I had loved her.

I genuinely loved her. And she loved me. That was all that mattered anymore.

_**-Honor a dying girl's last request huh? Don't be mad at me Squall. Dont be mad if I leave you.-**_

_z-z-z-z-z-z-z-z_

_A/N: See? I told you it wasn't so horribly sad! I mean, sure she died but...hehe. I rewrote, trying to fix mistakes and fix just the overall...badness. Nice try eh?_

_Reviewer Thanks:_

_Bracken Fae - _

_Deplora - _

_Qwicksilver - _

_Amanda/Gothy - _

_Pingpong867 - _

_Aoi-butterfly(Sorry there wasn't much reason with the Rinoa thing, there just really wasnt much to say about it) - _

_Joy Blue - _

_October Breeze -_


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